South African police foil plan to assassinate president

December 17, 2012

The South African police recently announced that they foiled a plan in which suspected right-wing Afrikaner extremists planned on bombing the African National Congress (ANC) conference, which President Jacob Zuma attended along with other important elected officials, according to Reuters.

On Sunday, four men between the ages of 40 and 50 were arrested, and it was suspected that they were not only planning on bombing the conference in Bloemfontein, but also other parts of the country, according to the media outlet. The majority of the white people in South Africa welcomed Nelson Mandela when he took power in 1994. However, one group, who is suspected for this threat, still opposes the idea.

"Their acts are widespread. We arrested them in different provinces," spokesman Billy Jones told the news source.

The party which supports whites in South Africa, known as the Federal Freedom Party, admitted that the individuals who were arrested were party members, but they denied any involvement with the plan.

"We were not involved and do not associate ourselves with their actions," national secretary Francois Cloete told the media outlet.

The police received information about a possible bombing in the marquee where Zuma, as well was thousands of delegates, were planning on meeting to discuss leadership for the next five years. Luckily, police intervened before anything happened.

The event itself was full of security, with only a few cars allowed on the campus and a number of dogs and police searching individuals. The conference is going to give Zuma second mandate, and due to the ANC's dominance, it is likely there will be another five-year term in 2014's presidential election for Zuma, the media outlet reports.

This isn't the first time something like this has happened. In fact, a former university lecturer was found guilty this past July for developing a plot to overthrow the ANC and assassinate Mandela back in 2002.

According to NBC News, Mandela is now 94 years old, and is dealing with a few health problems due to a lung infection. He recently had to undergo surgery to have gallstones removed, which was deemed successful.